Byron woman out $3,700 in fake job scam

(ABC 6 News) – A Byron woman is out $3,700 and jobless after a scammer pretending to work for a joint replacement manufacturer pretended to offer her a job and paychecks, then asked for money.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said the 38-year-old woman received a fake job offer over LinkedIn that appeared to be from a Florida company called ExacTech.

The scammer reportedly offered the woman a work-from-home position and sent her two checks totalling $4,500.

The scammer then asked to woman to reimburse the company for computer and equipment costs so they could send her items to work from home.

The woman sent the scammer $2,000 over the Zelle app, and then purchased an American Express gift card for $1,700 and sent that information to the scammer.

After the woman tried to deposit the two checks into her own account, she learned that they were fake.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said the woman made contact with ExacTech, which does not employ the scammer.

The company reportedly said they were aware of the scamming issue, as other people had called the company to report similar encounters.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office learned of the scam on Nov. 4.